Proponents of the zones say they contribute to economic growth and neighborhood revitalization by attracting and retaining businesses through incentives.

Opponents say the zones, if not implemented in such a way that balances social benefits with social costs, may simply speed up or shift growth, and claim the zones are a form of corporate welfare.

This enterprise zone in particular would offer sales tax incentives and credits among other incentives, but would not include real estate tax abatements, encouraging large-scale developments such as big-box stores, hotels and multi-modal facilities. Jerseyville is in the process of competing initiatives to attract a “large multi-modal development,” said Godfrey Director of Economic Development William Catalano in a memo to the village board.

“The scale of development they are seeking would have strong regional workforce growth effects. Godfrey’s participation in this application would strengthen the merits of their application and bring more voices of support,” said Catalano, adding that the application process is extremely competitive,” Catalano said in the memo.

Such multi-modal facilities would bring not only jobs to the region, but would bring a variety of jobs to the region, from blue collar to white collar, management to manual labor.

Mayor Mike McCormick said he believes the decision to participate is a step in the right direction for the village.

“I think it’s a very wise decision,” McCormick said.

Trustee Michael Stumpf agreed with McCormick’s assessment, saying, “I’d love to see some development in the village of Godfrey and within a close proximity.”

Jerseyville and Jersey County approved a resolution Friday to submit an application for an enterprise zone. The proposed zone may also include Greene County and Lewis and Clark Community College (LCCC), whose boards would need to approve participation.

Participating in the application process is costly. The city of Godfrey would pay $13,000 from a general fund in that process. The application process and administration of the zone would be done by the city of Jerseyville.

State says not so fast on enterprise zones

Though the zone, if approved by the state, wouldn’t take effect until Jan. 1, 2017, a hold remains on all new approvals and re-approvals of existing enterprise zones due to the uncertainty surrounding Illinois’ ongoing budget crisis.

Madison County has three existing enterprise zones: the Southwestern, Riverbend and Gateway Commerce Center zones. All recently received approval from the Illinois Enterprise Zone Board, but Illinois Department of Economic Opportunity Director Jim Schultz said in August that the state will hold off on certifying any of the 49 applications approved for the time being.

“In light of Illinois’ current fiscal uncertainty and ongoing budget impasse, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will not certify the enterprise zones at this time,” Schultz said in a press release. “Local and state tax incentives are important business development tools, but cannot be truly effective while the state continues to bleed jobs due to high costs of doing business. To issue tax incentives without addressing these cost drivers would be a disservice to Illinois businesses and communities. The Department of Commerce will continue to evaluate the appropriate time to certify the approved enterprise zones.”

The Southwestern and Riverbend zones have been around for roughly 30 years. Madison County communications director Jeff Wehling said the two existing enterprise zones have proven beneficial to the county.

“We’ve seen the success of the two enterprise zones that are currently in existence and how they have helped with economic development, new business and the creation of jobs,” Wehling said in a previous interview with The Telegraph. “They’ve proven to be very successful. Without the enterprise zones, we wouldn’t have seen the expansion of Conoco Phillips or the money put into U.S. Steel in Granite City. Those enterprise zones directly contributed to those significant projects.”

Reporter Kelsey Landis can be reached at 618-208-6460, Ext. 1396 or on Twitter @kelseylandis.